Fear of hell is in our dna...

[Angrboda]

It may be true that the religious think little of the threat of hell once converted, yet that compartmentalization is made possible by the belief that they have been immunized and no longer need fear hell. If you take away that shield, what happens? I haven't examined the question of what kinds of doubts believers display when questioning their faith. It may be uninformative, as doubt may take away both the immunity and the threat, by removing confidence in belief, rather than relieving oneself of one without the other. Though I think why people return to religion may be informative in this regard. Emotions, whether threats of hell or other negative emotions, tend to factor prominently in explaining re-conversion, while the positive aspects of belief seem be less prominent. In that regard, I'd have to include desire for eternal reward as no less an emotional factor than the alternative themes of Godly love, evidence, reason, or what have you.

[robvalue]

I don't know how more believers aren't absolutely crippled by worries of hell. They generally seem blissfully confident that they're doing everything just right, when even a particular religion can't agree on what people should do to avoid it; let alone choosing the right one in the first place.

Obviously, I don't want anyone to be crippled by it. I want the idea to stop, and for parents not to fill children's heads with it. I feel like it could/should be considered psychological abuse. At least in some countries, I would expect the damaging effects of this to be well known by now. Of course, religion has them between a rock and a hard place, because they probably consider the harm of not teaching about hell to be worse. What a hideous god they worship. I don't envy their position at all. I just wouldn't have kids, so as not to take the chance.

[brewer]

I'm sure threats of hell are a potent factor in religious conversion.  It's also arguably a greater factor among children and the young, among whom most religious conversion (or indoctrination) occurs.  But it's not as clear that threats of hell are as effective in maintaining belief once it is established.  Perseverance of belief as well as parental influence are likely factors there.  Once you believe, for whatever reason, it's harder to stop believing than continuing along the same path.  Thus threats of hell, parental influence, and perseverance of belief likely make up a perfect storm guaranteed to turn out faithful who, though they develop more sophisticated views ad hoc and post-conversion, likely owe their faith to early vulnerability having nothing to do with any "nobler" motives for believing.

I think that teenage rebellion against my parents was probably part of my walking away from religion. 

Thank you Marlon Brando.

[Aoi Magi]

For most of the religious people I know personally, fear of hell isn't really what motivates them, it's more about the comfort of having someone watch over you.

[Mister Agenda]

People who haven't been indoctrinated to believe in hell don't seem to have any fear of it. I was indoctrinated, but at this point you might as well threaten me with a promise to imagine that I'll be reincarnated as a leprous duck after I die. The sentiment is a little hurtful, but I'm not worried that I'm going to wind up a diseased duck.

[Little Rik]

My feeling is that the priests that invented the hell in the past and the priests that carry on with this dogma these days will not be very happy when at their physical death will face God.